Tennis

[Dariush]

and what does this has to do with the topic?
anyway back to the SUBJECT, i bet naseem could kick my ***

[donsaeid]

mahicheye nasim ro niga... mashallah... dariush... nasimo begir ke dige kotak nakhori...

[Rasputin]

David Nalbandian

his last name means "one who makes horse shoes" in Persian.

Nalbandian is a good friend of compatriot Guillermo Coria and keeps a good relationship with all Argentine players especially Agustin Calleri. He is a fan of the River Plate football team and has his own rally team called Tango Rally with Marcos Ligato as the main driver.

Nalbandian employs an aggressive baseline game, although he is capable of playing an all-court style if the occasion calls for it. His main strengths are in his groundstrokes and return game, complemented by his deft accuracy and incredible foot speed. His groundstrokes are technically sound and solid from both wings and because of its depth, pace, and consistency, opponents often have difficulty breaking down one particular side. Nalbandian's trademark shot is his two-handed backhand down the line, which he uses often to force a weak reply, if not hit a winner outright. His groundstrokes are tough when he stays put, but he is also capable of producing strong shots while on the run. Nalbandian's accuracy allows him to hit unsuspecting winners on opponents who think they've got him on the ropes. He has also an aggressive mentality and one of the most unique in the tennis world. An example is that he does not do well in normal atp tournaments but he always ends up being a threat in grandslam tournament. He is well known for his life outside the tennis world. He spends major time fishing, and is a huge fan of rally races. He founded his own team with friend Marcos Ligato.

According to experts such as John McEnroe, Nalbandian's biggest weakness is his weak and low-percentage serve. However, he is a solid volleyer, and if the situation calls for it tactically, Nalbandian would be willing to finish out points at net. Perhaps his best hidden strength is his ability to execute amazing dropshots. He puts great disguise on the dropshot from both forehand and backhand sides; fooling his opponents into thinking he'll hit a deep groundstroke, only to drop his hands at the last second to carve underneath the ball for the dropshot. David is also able to hit drop volleys, which often wins the point outright when his opponents are hustling back into position near the baseline. With how heavy his baseline game is, combined with how frequently and how successful his dropshots are, David eventually forces his opponents to constantly be on their toes wondering where to run next. As a result of his ability to execute perfect dropshots tennis commentator Cliff Drysdale has commented that David should be re-named the "Dropshot Dragon" (during the Tennis Masters Series in Shanghai of 2005).

[Rasputin]

Nadal entered his first French Open among the favorites. He beat two of France's local hopes, Sebastien Grosjean and Richard Gasquet, to reach the semifinals. On his 19th birthday, he defeated Federer, preventing the Swiss from achieving a career Grand Slam. Two days later, he became the fourth-youngest French Open champion in the open era, defeating Argentina's Mariano Puerta in the final. He became the seventh player to win a Grand Slam in his first appearance at the event and the first since Agassi at the 1995 Australian Open. He also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 U.S. Open at age 19. Nadal is the first teenager to win at least six titles in a year since Agassi in 1988 at the age of 18.

Three days after his victory in Paris, his winning streak was snapped on the grass courts of Halle, Germany, where he was beaten by German Alexander Waske in the first round. He suffered another disappointment at Wimbledon, where he was eliminated in the second round by Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.

Nadal started his 2005 hardcourt season by defeating Agassi in the final of the Canada Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the U.S. Open but was eliminated in the third round by American James Blake in four sets. Despite the loss, his second seeding and third round performance were both career highs. After the U.S. Open, Nadal won two more hard court tournaments. In September, he defeated Guillermo Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing, and in October, he won his fourth Masters Series event, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in five sets in the final of the Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that kept him out of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005 and the start of 2006, causing him to miss the Australian Open. Overall, Nadal matched world No. 1 Roger Federer's standard in ATP titles won in a single season, eleven, and Masters Series events won, four. He won 79 matches in 2005, second only to Federer's 81.

The fierce rivalry between Nadal and Federer has continued long into 2006. In March 2006, Nadal handed Federer his first loss of the year at the final in Dubai, winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Nadal defeated Federer again at the Monte Carlo Masters by a score of 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

The two squared off again in the Rome Masters final. There, it seemed as though Federer might finally defeat his nemesis, thereby ending Nadal's streak of consecutive clay court matches. However, Nadal fought off two match points and won 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6.

Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year record of 53 consecutive clay court match victories after defeating Robin Soderling in the first round of the 2006 French Open. Following the victory, Nadal was presented with a trophy containing the cross section of the construction of a clay court. Vilas was on hand for the ceremony, although Vilas has refused to acknowledge Nadal's feat as more impressive than his own.

The French Open final was hotly anticipated, pitting No. 1 Federer against No. 2 Nadal. For Federer, the French Open was the missing link in a career Grand Slam and in holding all four majors simultaneously. For Nadal, the task of defending his French Open title, as well as maintaining a dominant winning record against Federer, was enormous, something that no other player has accomplished thus far. Though Nadal was the favorite based on his clay court ability, Federer was the overwhelming favorite with the raucous French crowd. Everyone expected a highly competitive match, much like the ones they had played in the last three Masters Series tournaments. Yet, the first two sets were hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6-1 sets. Nadal steamrolled over Federer through sets 3 and 4, when Federer finally broke Nadal's serve deep in the fourth set as he was serving for the match and forced a tiebreak, which Nadal won.

With an undefeated 2006 clay court season, Nadal firmly stamped himself as the dominant clay court player in the world and as the only player able to beat Federer consistently. Nadal withdrew due to a shoulder injury against Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals of Queens Club, a Wimbledon tune-up tournament. Seeded No. 2 going into Wimbledon, Nadal reached the finals, securing a match against Federer by beating Marcos Baghdatis in the semifinals. During his run, Nadal was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. Nadal also defeated Andre Agassi in the third round, in Agassi's final match at Wimbledon. All seven of the previous Nadal/Federer encounters had been played on either clay or hard courts; however, Wimbledon is played on a grass surface, which is Federer's preferred surface, having won the title for three consecutive years. Though Nadal played well in the final after a sluggish start, he fell in four sets, 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, cementing Federer's position at the top of the world rankings. Despite the loss, Nadal well exceeded most expectations just by reaching the finals, winning more matches at the tournament than he had ever won on grass before (he had been just 3-3 on grass before the tournament).

At the 2006 U.S. Open, Nadal achieved his best result at the tournament so far by reaching the quarterfinals, where he lost to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in 4 sets.

[donsaeid]

رقابت*هاي تنيس حرفه*اي جهان

فدرر به سختي به بازي نهايي بازل رسيد


روجر فدرر، قهرمان معروف تنيس حرفه*اي جهان در رقابت هاي اي تي پي بازل سوئيس به زحمت افتاد.



به نقل از سايت ورزش آلمان، اين قهرمان تنيس سوئيسي به سختي توانست بر پارادورن سريش پان، قهرمان تايلند در سه ست با نتايج شش بر چهار، شش بر سه و هفت بر شش پيروز شود.
با اين نتيجه فدرر به مرحله نهايي راه يافت كه در بازي نهايي با فرناندو گونزالس از شيلي روبرو مي شود.
وي توانسته بود در مرحله نيمه نهايي بر استالانيس لاووارينكا، هموطن فدرر غلبه كند.
مقامات برگزاري اين مسابقات به قهرمان اين دوره 850 هزار يورو جايزه نقدي مي*دهند.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Safin wins Davis Cup for Russia

In a dramatic fifth and deciding rubber match Sunday in Moscow, Marat Safin outdueled Argentina's Jose Acasuso in four sets to lift Russia to its second Davis Cup championship in five years.

Safin posted a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory on Sunday to make the Russians the 2006 champions. The victory set off a wild celebration on the court at Olympic Stadium, where Russia lost back-to-back finals in 1994 and 1995.

Safin gave the hosts the 3-2 win over the disappointed Argentines by topping Acasuso in a high-quality two-hour, 50-minute rubber on the indoor carpet. The big Russian clinched the title on his second match point when his Argentine counterpart netted a forehand.

The Russian contingent stormed the court to join a stunned Safin, who stumbled into their embrace and was then hoisted into the air. On the other side of the net, Acasuso collapsed in tears and was inconsolable on the Argentine bench.

Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin joined the on-court festivities.

"I was under pressure and I was pretty scared," Safin said afterwards. "I didn't want to let this Cup go away."

"Acasuso proved himself well," Safin added. "He served well and was confident on this surface. But he never played in such a match before, and my experience paid off."

Safin comes up aces
The charismatic Safin piled up 16 aces and broke Acasuso's serve three times in the victory. Acasuso, who replaced Juan Ignacio Chela for the match, fought hard over the last two sets despite battling a foot injury. Chela was a four-set loser against Nikolay Davydenko in Friday's opening singles.

Safin improved to 2-2 lifetime against Acasuso, including a victory at the Madrid Masters in October.

Russia captured its first Davis Cup in 2002 and was the two-time runner-up in the mid 1990s. The 2002 victory came on the road against France, where Safin went 2-0 in singles.

The Argentines are still seeking their first-ever Davis Cup title. They lost to the United States in their only other trip to the final back in 1981.

The Russians, who haven't lost at home in 11 years, were the favourites to win in Moscow, despite the fact that home nations went 4-8 in the previous 12 Davis Cup finals.

Visiting Croatia defeated the Slovak Republic 3-2 in last year's Davis Cup final in Bratislava.

[Rasputin]

جاستين هنين-هاردن برترين تنيسور زنان جهان اعلام کرده است که در مسابقات اوپن استراليا، اولين گرند اسلم سال ۲۰۰۷، شرکت نخواهد کرد. اين تنيسور بلژيکی که به فينال هر چهار گرند اسلم سال پيش رسيده اما فقط در فرانسه به قهرمانی رسيد، اعلام کرده که به دلايل خانوادگی در مسابقات اين ماه شرکت نخواهد کرد.

- ماريا شاراپووا تنيسور شماره دو زنان جهان در اولين ديدار خود در سال ۲۰۰۷ مقابل يان زی از چين پيروز شد. اين ديدار در چهارچوب مسابقات هنگ کنگ برگزار شد. کيم کلايسترز نيز در اين مسابقات حاضر است.

- تيم هنمن تنيسور مرد بريتانيايی نيز به دليل آسيب ديدگی زانو مسابقات اوپن استراليا را از دست خواهد داد. هنمن که سال گذشته دومين تنيسور بريتانيايی بود، در رده ۳۹ جهان قرار داشت.

[donsaeid]

"ارغوان رضايي" تنيس*باز ايراني*الاصل مقيم فرانسه در دور نخست پيكارهاي تنيس آزاد استراليا با مليت فرانسوي به مصاف هموطن خود مي*رود.

به*گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه از ملبورن، "رضايي" دارنده دو مدال طلاي بازي*هاي ورزشي بانوان كشورهاي اسلامي در دور نخست اين مسابقه*ها به ديدار "اميلي لويت" فرانسوي مي*رود.

تنيس باز ۱۹ساله ايراني اواخر دي ماه گذشته براي برپايي يك اردوي دو هفته*اي وارد تهران شد و تمرينات خود را در مجموعه ورزشي جهان*شهر كرج برگزار كرد.

"علي نيلي" و "علي كاتبي" دو داور بين*المللي كشورمان نيز در اين دوره از مسابقه*ها قضاوت خواهند كرد.

برنامه ديدارهاي مهم دور نخست اين رقابت*ها به شرح زير است :
.................................................. .......


* بخش مردان
روژه فدرر از سوييس با بورن فائو از آلمان
يان هرنيچ از جمهوري چك با ميخائيل يوژني از روسيه
ماركوس باگداتيس از قبرس با راينر شوتلر از آلمان
روبين راميرز از اسپانيا با تامي روبردو از اسپانيا
ماريو آنچيچ از كرواسي با گو سودا از ژاپن
ويلفرد تسونگا از فرانسه با اندي روديك از آمريكا
كريستف روش از بلژيك با سباستين گروسه*ژان از فرانسه
سرجيو روتمن از آرژانتين با نيكولاي داويدنكو از روسيه
جيمز بلاك از آمريكا با كارلوس مويا از اسپانيا
ليتون هيوويت از استراليا با ميشائيل روسل از آمريكا
روبرت كندريك از آمريكا با رافائل نادال از اسپانيا

* بخش زنان
ماريا شاراپووا از روسيه با كاميلي پين از فرانسه
كيم كليسترز از بلژيك با واسيليسا باردينا از روسيه
آكيكو موريگامي از ژاپن با تسوتانا پيرونكوا از بلژيك
ناتالي دوچي از فرانسه با مارتينا هينگيس از سوييس
يسيكا مور از استراليا با استلانا كوزنتسوا از روسيه
اي سوگي ياما از ژاپن با سوفيا آرديدسون از سوئد
شاناي پري از آمريكا با اميلي مورسمو از فرانسه
نود و چهارمين دوره رقابت*هاي تنيس آزاد استراليا (نخستين گرند اسلم سال جديد ميلادي) از فردا شب در زمين*هاي تنيس ملبورن پارك آغاز مي*شود.

[donsaeid]

صفتي: تنيسورها پيشرفت قابل ملاحظه اي داشته*اند

سرپرست تيم ملي تنيس ايران گفت: تيم اعزامي به كويت، در كيش پيشرفت قابل توجهي داشته است.


فرشاد صفتي افزود: به دليل سردي هوا در تهران و نداشتن زمين هارد كورت، تمرينات تيم ملي را به جزيره كيش منتقل كرديم.
وي ادامه داد: اين جزيره از حيث شرايط آب و هوايي بسيار به كويت نزديك است و تنها تفاوت آن در نوع زمين هارد كورت است. اين زمين در كيش از نوع كند است و كويت از نوع تند بهره مي*برد. تيم ملي تا 12 بهمن ماه در اين جزيره به تمريناتش ادامه مي*دهد و سپس به تهران باز مي گردد.
صفتي خاطر نشان كرد: اكنون روزي چهار جلسه تمرين را در دستور كار داريم كه بدنسازي با شدت بسيار زيادي پيگيري مي شود.
وي با اشاره به جدال ايران با كويت در نخستين ديدار جام ديويس، گفت: اشكان شكوفي نخستين بازي انفرادي را مقابل محمد القريب، بهترين بازيكن كويت انجام مي*دهد. او چندي پيش در فيوچرز كيش با اختلافي اندك به قريب باخت و با تمريناتي كه پشت سر گذاشته مي*تواند بر او غلبه كند.
سرپرست تيم ملي افزود: بايد روي مسابقه انفرادي دوم و دو نفره بيشتر تمركز كنيم. خوشبختانه تا به امروز تيم ملي روند رو به رشدي را داشته است.
تيم ملي ايران چهاردهم بهمن ماه راهي كويت شده و پانزدهم به رقابت با تنيسورهاي اين كشور مي پردازد.

[donsaeid]

بهرامي:

اشكان و انوشا نبايد در تنيس احساس برتري كنند


مشاور فدراسيون تنيس گفت: اگر اشكان شكوفي و انوشا شاهقلي فكر مي*كنند آماده*ترين نفرات هستند، بايد آن را در زمين ثابت كنند.



منصور بهرامي پيش از ترك ايران در اين خصوص افزود: هرگز نبايد يك ورزشكار نسبت به ديگران احساس برتري داشته باشد. اگر چنين تصوري وجود دارد، بايد داخل زمين آن را به حريفان ديكته كند. در اين صورت است كه گام*هاي پيشرفت يكي پس از ديگري برداشته مي شود.

وي با حمايت از كادر فني تيم ملي ادامه داد: اميدوارم تيم ملي بتواند از سد كويت گذشته و بتواند به مراحل بالاتر صعود كند. عيسي و محرم خدايي از بهترين هاي تنيس ايران هستند. آنها هم اگر سال ها پيش همراه من به فرانسه مي آمدند، مي توانستند از چهره هاي برجسته جهان باشند.

بهرامي خطاب به نسل جوان تنيس ايران اظهار داشت: اميدوارم شوك بزرگي به تنيس ايران وارد و جوانان زيادي جذب تنيس شوند تا شاهد خارج شدن تيم ملي از دست تعدادي محدود باشيم. در اين شرايط بازيكنان تيم ملي حاشيه امنيت نخواهند داشت و هرلحظه براي از دست دادن جايگاه خود احساس خطر مي كنند و اين يك رقابتي تنگاتنگ را ايجاد ميكند.

بهرامي شب گذشته به فرانسه بازگشت و در ماه هاي آينده بار ديگر به ايران مي آيد.

[donsaeid]

احمدوند: از نظر فني با تنيسورهاي كويت برابريم


عضو تيم ملي تنيس گفت: دو تيم كويت و ايران از نظر فني شرايط برابري دارند و تنها امتياز آنها، ميزباني است.


سعيد احمدوندافزود: تيم با تمريناتي كه پشت سر گذاشته، به پنجاه درصد از آمادگي رسيده است. باتوجه به برنامه ريزي صورت گرفته، ملي*پوشان پله پله به مرز آمادگي مي رسند.

وي تاكيد كرد: اين هفته فشار تمرينات بدنسازي در كيش بسيار زياد بود كه در هفته آينده از شدت آن كاسته شده و كم كم به مرز آمادگي صددرصد خواهيم رسيد.

احمدوند اظهار داشت: خوشبختانه از تيم ملي كويت شناخت كافي داريم. به عقيده من، اين تيم از نظر فني با كويت برابر است و تنها نقطه مثبت آنها، ميزبانيشان است.

اين ملي پوش ادامه داد: بايد كويت را ببريم چون در اين صورت به مصاف برنده اندونزي و هنگ كنگ مي رويم. در اين ديدار ايران ميزبان است و اين مسئله كار ما را براي رسيدن به مراحل بالاتر آسان تر مي كند.

تيم ملي تنيس ايران پانزدهم بهمن ماه راهي كويت مي شود تا در چارچوب گروه دوم جام ديويس به مصاف كويت برود.

[abadani69]

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Andy Roddick was ruthless, treating his close friend like little more than warmup fodder for his semifinal showdown with Roger Federer.

The 2003 U.S. Open champion flattened Mardy Fish without blinking Tuesday, making only four unforced errors in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 quarterfinal win at the Australian Open.

"I played pretty flawless, I thought," Roddick said. "I feel good going into the semis."

Roddick said he could remember making more errors in one game than he had in the entire match against Fish, who lived with him in Boca Raton, Fla., for a while and went to his high school.

"I tried my best to kind of put our friendship to the back of my head," Roddick said. "You know, it's always difficult. It's a weird, weird situation."

Next up is how to beat Federer, something he has not managed since Montreal in 2003.

That was the year he ended at No. 1 and collected his only major title.

Federer also won his first major at Wimbledon that year, and is now bidding for his 10th Grand Slam title.

The defending champion encountered tricky wind conditions on Rod Laver Arena and a difficult opponent, looking nervous at times during a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-5 win over No. 7 Tommy Robredo with his parents in the crowd.

Federer, who lost to Roddick in the final of an exhibition tournament 10 days ago, dropped his serve four times. He was shaking his head after shanking some shots.

"The break of serves, they're due to the wind I assume," Federer said. "I had to kind of change my game around a little bit midway through the second set.

"I think my attacking style really worked out well -- I'm really happy to have come through."

Federer has been ranked No. 1 since February 2004 and next month he'll break Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks atop the rankings.

Roddick and eight-time Grand Slam winner Connors teamed up as student and coach last July to try and challenge Federer's domination.

And that has coincided with Roddick returning to the top 10 and becoming a contender again to take a major from Federer.

"I said for the past probably five or six months, the gap has either been closing a little bit or just he hasn't been extending it, which he's probably done the last three years or so," Roddick said. "That's a good thing.

"I feel like I'm in good form. I'd love to see where I match up."

Federer said his 12-1 record against Roddick did not reflect how close some of the matches have been.

The 25-year-old Swiss star had to save match points before beating Roddick at the Masters Cup last November at Shanghai and has had close runs against him in finals at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon.

"I think we've played on so many big occasions against each other. If I wouldn't have been there, maybe look at the success he would have had," Federer said. "We're about the same age. You know, he's been No. 1. I don't think the record really plays much of a role."

Serena Williams knows what it's like to dominate tennis. This time, though, she's coming in at the other end.

She has won seven Grand Slams, but had not beaten a top 10 player in two years since her last Australian title until upsetting No. 5 Nadia Petrova in the third round.

On Tuesday, it was only her competitive streak that got her out of trouble against 16th-seeded Shahar Peer and into a semifinal against 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova, who beat fellow Czech Lucie Safarova in straight sets.

Williams fended off 10 break points and came within two points of going out before advancing 3-6, 6-2, 8-6.

"I am the ultimate competitor," said Williams, adding: "I feel absolutely no pressure. I don't think anyone thought I would get this far, except for me and my mom."

She came in unseeded and ranked No. 81 after playing only four tournaments last year because of a recurring knee problem.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova led the challenge on the other side of the draw in a quarterfinal Wednesday against fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze, while No. 4 Kim Clijsters and three-time champion Martina Hingis line up again in a quarterfinal for the second year running.

Clijsters won at that stage last year, ending Hingis' remarkable run after coming to Melbourne Park with a ranking of 341 following three years in retirement.

Tommy Haas will try to make his third Australian semifinal when he plays No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko in a quarterfinal.

Rafael Nadal, who has been ranked No. 2 to Federer since July 2005, faces No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez two nights after his epic comeback in five sets against Andy Murray.

Nadal and Murray were the only two men to beat Federer in 2006.

Roddick's win over Federer at Kooyong earlier in the month won't count on their ATP records because it was an exhibition.

Regardless, Roddick is taking confidence from that.

"I said before we played in Kooyong, if I had won there I'm not going to come in acting like it's some huge match," he said. "But given the choice going in to win a match or lose a match, you choose to win it.

"I've been a little bit more successful the last couple times I played him -- I'm going to have to go with what I do well and try to attack him."

Fish lived with the Roddick family in 1999 and the pair have been long time hitting partners. They had played five times, but never at a major.

Fish, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist who is still on the comeback from wrist surgery in 2005, got a taste of a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time and said he's never seen Roddick more focused.

"You feel like he's on a mission," said Fish, adding that he thinks Federer is vulnerable.

"Absolutely," he said. "Roger doesn't like to lose, even in exhibitions.

"Maybe I'm making too much of the exhibition -- or maybe not. Maybe that was one of the steps mentally that (Roddick) had to get over to take him out in one of these tournaments."

[abadani69]

Serena Williams won her eighth and most improbable Grand Slam title, overwhelming top-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open on Saturday.

Only the second unseeded woman to win the Australian title in the Open era, Williams came into the tournament ranked No. 81 after spending most of last season on the sidelines because of a knee injury.

"I'm really enjoying this!" said Williams, who will jump to No. 14 next week.

It was her first title in 15 tournaments since winning the 2005 Australian Open, and the most dominating win in a completed championship match at Melbourne Park since Steffi Graf beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-0, 6-2 in 1994.

Williams finished off Sharapova with a backhand winner, then threw her racket in the air and dropped onto her back on the court.

The 25-year-old American, also the 2003 champion, got up and skipped over to the side of the court, swapping high-fives with mother Oracene Price and other people in the stands before jogging back onto court with her arms up in triumph.

Sharapova had no answers to Williams power.

"You can never underestimate her as a performer. ... I know what she's capable of and she showed that today," said Sharapova, who will assume the No. 1 ranking from Justine Henin. "She has showed it many, many times.

"Unfortunately I couldn't hold the big (trophy) today, but I'm holding the second big one. I look forward to coming back next year and hopefully taking the big one."

Williams started aggressively and never relented in the kind of form that helped her dominate women's tennis as she completed the "Serena Slam" with four consecutive majors up to the 2003 Australian Open.

She held to open and then won 12 straight points after Sharapova had a game point in the next to jump to a 4-0 lead. Williams saved a break point in the fifth game before Sharapova held at love to make it 5-1.

Williams served out, taking the first set in 26 minutes on her second set point when Sharapova sent a backhand service return wide.

The American broke Sharapova's serve and resolve again to open the second set, then had consecutive double-faults to give the 19-year-old Russian a break point chance in the next game. In a manner typical of her determined performance Saturday, Williams fired an ace to save the break point and held on back-to-back errors by Sharapova.

Williams led 4-0 before Sharapova held again, avoiding the most lopsided women's final ever in the Australian Open.

Serving for the match, Williams fired two aces to earn triple match point, then finished it off in 1 hour, 3 minutes with the backhand winner.

With occasional showers and a strong wind outside, the roof was closed on packed Rod Laver Arena.

Williams missed nine tournaments immediately after losing in the third round at the Australian Open last year and played only 16 matches in 2006, when she slumped as low as No. 140 in the rankings.

Despite only having three matches at a low-key warmup tournament in Hobart, she had was fit enough to advance over five seeded players.

Her win over No. 5 Nadia Petrova in the third round was her first over a top-10 player since she won the 2005 tournament.

Sharapova came into the match on a 13-match winning streak in Grand Slams, having won the U.S. Open last September.

After winning her first-round match in three sets over Camille Pin of France, Sharapova didn't drop a set in five rounds before the final.

In the men's final Sunday, top-ranked Roger Federer is aiming for a 10th major title against Grand Slam final newcomer Fernando Gonzalez.

Gonzalez overpowered Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals Friday, a night after Federer beat No. 6 Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

"He's the No. 1 player in the world by far. ... I lost many times with him," Gonzalez said. "But now I'm playing much better than the last time we played. And it's only one match. I'm going to give everything that I have to try to win my first Slam."

Gonzalez is 0-9 against Federer, who has won nine of his 10 major finals.

Federer's victory over Roddick put him into a seventh consecutive Grand Slam final, tying a record set in 1934 by Jack Crawford.

Gonzalez has improved his temperament, his backhand -- where he once felt "a hole" on his left side -- and his shot selection. The turnaround started last May when he began working with Larry Stefanki, who previously coached John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

He has beaten former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 5-ranked James Blake and No. 2 Rafael Nadal en route to his first Grand Slam final.

"I'm playing the most important match in my life and he's the best player of the last many years. He's winning all the time," Gonzalez said. "He has to lose sometime. I'm going to try to do it on Sunday."

[abadani69]

Roger Federer captured his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set, finishing a dominating run through the Australian Open by beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final.

Federer improved his winning streak to a career-best 36 matches, became the first man in the Open era to twice win three straight majors and has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles -- his only loss was in the French Open final to Rafael Nadal.

It also was the first time that a champion went through a major without dropping a set since the 1980 French Open, when Bjorn Borg did it for the third time. Ken Rosewall, who was sitting in the stands, was the last man to accomplish the feat at the Australian Open, in 1971.

By reaching the final, Federer already had tied Jack Crawford's record of playing in seven consecutive finals at the majors, set in 1934.

The 25-year-old Federer now is within four of Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam titles.

"I don't know how I did it so quickly, in such a short period of time," Federer said.

Next up is the French Open, the only major he hasn't won.

"That's such a tough Grand Slam to win," Federer said. "I am improving year by year on clay and maybe one year (Nadal) won't be in the final. If he is, maybe I can beat him."

While Federer made his two-week blitz look easy, he said a lot of work went into it.

"It all works out in the end. It is just wonderful. I have had a great run here again this year," he told a crowd that included his parents, who sat courtside after flying in to watch him for the first time in Australia. "I am very proud to be holding this trophy again."

Gonzalez, who fell to 0-10 against Federer, said the Swiss star was simply too good.

"I have to congratulate again -- again -- Roger," the 26-year-old Chilean said. "He is a great champion who played a really good match today, all week -- almost all his life."

Federer said he had thought about a different strategy against Gonzalez, then recalled his past success.

"In the end I said, you know what, I've beaten him nine times, so just take it easy and play your game, and hopefully it is going to work out," he said. "It did."

Gonzalez, seeded 10th and in his first Grand Slam final, kept Federer under pressure with his big forehand, but could not quite match the all-around game of the player who has been ranked No. 1 for 156 consecutive weeks.

He broke Federer in the ninth game, the first break point chance of the match, and had two set points in the next game but failed to convert.

"I was missing too many forehands, I didn't know what to do exactly with his slice," Federer said. "Maybe the wind, maybe his court coverage and everything put me under pressure, and I wasn't feeling that great right from the start.

"If he closes out 6-4, he is clearly the better player in that set. I came back just at the right moment."

Federer broke back to level it at 5-all, then had four set points in the next game before Gonzalez held in a game that went to deuce seven times. That forced a tiebreaker which Federer dominated, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after winning a challenge against an incorrect baseline call and getting the first point replayed.

Gonzalez, the Olympic doubles champion, had conceded only two points on serve in the second set until Federer broke for a 4-3 lead.

Federer fired an ace to close the second set and broke Gonzalez in the seventh game of the third. He earned triple championship point with a forehand winner and closed it with a backhand down the line.

"That match point was fantastic," Federer said. "I think that was my only backhand winner up the line when he was also at the baseline. To finish it off like this, it was great."

He fell to his back, rolled over and then got up, hit a ball into the stands and took a bow. He held both arms high before throwing his wristband into crowd.

For the match, Federer lost only 17 points in 16 service games plus the tiebreaker, and dropped only two points on serve in the last set.

He finished with 45 winners and only 19 unforced errors -- just four in the final set.

Gonzalez, who had only three unforced errors against Tommy Haas in the semifinals, had 28 against Federer to go with 31 winners.

The first set lasted 65 minutes, two minutes longer than Serena Williams needed to win the women's final 6-1, 6-2 over Maria Sharapova on Saturday afternoon.

Williams stayed in Melbourne and was at a packed Rod Laver Arena on a chilly, breezy night for the men's final that had fans bundled up.

Just as in last year's victory over Marcos Baghdatis, Federer had to beat an opponent who had become a crowd darling.

Amid chants of "Vamos Fernando!" and "Come on, Speedy!" one particularly fervent fan clutched the corners of a Chilean flag and kissed the corners on key points.

Federer had plenty of backers, too, with a number of faces painted like the Swiss flag. One fan waved a sign that proclaimed "Federer is betterer," and the Swiss star backed it up.

Gonzalez was trying to run around his backhand to whip powerful forehands and Federer sought to keep him from doing it, leading to a number of backhand-to-backhand rallies.

But while Gonzalez has improved his backhand, the most glaring weakness in his game, Federer showed he can rip winners from either side.

Gonzalez was grunting, not on his shots but with effort while tracking down Federer's groundstrokes to the corners. He stumbled and fell once and nearly a second time, and frequently tied his shoes to buy time.